Parallel-stacked aromatic molecules in hydrogen-bonded inorganic frameworks

By precisely constructing molecules and assembling these into well-defined supramolecular structures, novel physical properties and functionalities can be realized, and new areas of the chemical space can be accessed. In both materials science and biology, a deeper understanding of the properties and exploitation of the reversible character of weak bonds and interactions, such as hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions, is anticipated to lead to the development of materials with novel properties and functionalities. We apply the hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) strategy to inorganic materials science using the cubic octamer of orthosilicic acid, [Si(8)O(12)][OH](8), as a building block, and find that various types of hydrogen-bonded inorganic frameworks (HIFs). We succeed in parallel π-stacking pure benzene, thiophene, selenophene, p-benzoquinone, thiophene·p-benzoquinone, and benzene·p-benzoquinone polymers infinitely. These polymers interact via their π-systems by taking advantage of the flexible pores of the three-dimensional nano-honeycomb HIFs, which consist of periodic wide and narrow segments.